Photograph of Mound B at the Toltec site, Scott, Arkansas. (Courtesy National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution). Image taken from Emerging Patterns of Plum Bayou Culture, Arkansas Archeological Survey Research Series 18, edited by Martha Ann Rolingson.
Today, most of
these
sites are found on private land. However, some have been made into state
parks or other public sites. Click here to see a map
showing some of the archeologcial sites in the area that are open to the
public.
Many questions still remain about these ancient monuments. One thing archeologists do know is that the earthen mounds were built over a period of years. Perhaps they began as a slight rise with an important building on it. After a time, the building burned. Maybe the people set it on fire because it had become infested with vermin or perhaps the grass roof caught fire accidently. Whatever the cause of the fire, the people brought basketful after basketful of dirt to make a mound. When they were satisfied, they built a new building on top. Archeologists do not know what purpose these buildings fulfilled. The most widely accepted ideas are that these buildings were either religious structures, or the homes of chiefs or other important families.
One of the most notable sites in Arkansas is Toltec
Mounds Archeological State Park, shown here on the right. The large group
of ancient earthworks at Toltec has attracted national interest for over 100
years and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978. It is one of
the largest and most complex sites in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Located
on the bank of Mound Pond, it once had an 8 to 10 foot-high earthen embankment
on three sides. A century ago, 16 mounds were known inside the embankment and
two of them were 38 to 50 feet high. Today, several mounds and a remnant of
the embankment are visible and locations of other mounds are known. Click on
the icon above to view a fly-over animation of the toltec site.
Parkin Archeological State
Park, pictured on the left, is another important archeological site in
Arkansas. It has also been designated a National
Historic Landmark. Parkin is located along the St. Francis River and was
the site of a 17-acre Native American village from A.D. 1300 to 1550. A
large ceremonial mound along the bank of the river still remains today.
The Parkin site is also important because many scholars believe it is the
Native American village of Casqui, visited by the expedition of Hernando de Soto in the summer
of 1541.
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